SUPPORTING THE FREDERICK GUNN SCHOOL Spring Forward

The fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, was another successful step in the evolution of The Frederick Gunn School. Whether reflecting on enrollment trends, college matriculation, three consecutive years of record annual giving, or the announcement of the largest individual gift in the history of our school, we continue to see growth and momentum. It’s clear our vision and values and the recommitment to our founders and their principles resonate with alumni and prospective families. Looking back on several historical events of this spring and reflecting on our accomplishments over the past several years, we have much to be proud of. By any metric, we remain a school on the rise.

On Thursday, March 3, Jonathan Tisch ’72 visited campus for a special School Meeting to announce that he and his wife, Lizzie, would invest $25 million in the construction of the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Center for Innovation and Active Citizenship, an integrated learning hub in the campus center to replace the existing Science Building. This incredibly generous gift — more than two times the previous largest gift to the school — represents the Tischs’ commitment to the bright future of the institution and their willingness to aspire alongside us.

Last year, the admissions team reviewed a record number of applications (12% more than the previous year) and, on March 10, offered acceptance letters to the most competitive candidates of that esteemed group. By April 10, a strategic enrollment program leveraging faculty, current students, and parents, and two highly personalized and family-focused

Revisit Days, resulted in a first-round yield of nearly 40% (up 10 points from just three years earlier). We opened this fall with 323 students, our largest enrollment in history.

On Saturday, April 23, more than 27 months since the building opened, and just shy of two years from the original celebration date, we finally cut the ribbon on the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center. TPACC, as it’s come to be known, has transformed the main campus, creating gathering spaces in the Lemcke Community Room, in the Tisch Family Auditorium, and outside on the Koven-Jones Glade. Additionally, thanks to Thomas Perakos ’69, Richard C. Colton, Jr. ’60, the Class of 1968, and dozens of other generous alumni, parents, and friends, students have a space for risk-taking and creativity that matches the quality of their work.

On Sunday, May 29, we held our first traditional commencement as The Frederick Gunn School after two years of COVIDmodified ceremonies. We graduated 94 members of the Class of 2022, celebrated by the full faculty and student body and more than 500 family members and guests. Students matriculated to four Ivy League institutions: Brown, Cornell (2), Columbia

(2), and Penn; several selective institutions like American University, Babson College, Boston University, Claremont McKenna College, Colgate University, Denison University, Johns Hopkins University, Kenyon College, Lafayette College, New York University, Northeastern University, Smith College, Trinity College, Tulane University, Union College, University of California (Berkeley), and University of Michigan; plus one — my first-born — to the University of Georgia.

On Friday and Saturday, June 9-10, we welcomed alumni back to Washington for our first true Alumni Weekend since 2019. The classes ending in 2s and 7s came back in force — joined by peers from surrounding classes — resulting in record attendance, exceeding the 2019 totals by more than 100%. Head of School Peter Becker delivered a State of the School address, highlighting the goals of our Strategic Plan. Alumni experienced virtual tours of the future Center for Innovation and Active Citizenship, and Paul McManus ’87 P’21 ’23 shared tips on how estate planning can benefit both alumni and the school. In the annual meeting of the Alumni Association, President Laura Eanes Martin ’90 P’20 ’23 ’25 spoke about generational faculty, calling attention to the retiring Ed Small, who taught not only her, but also her children. And Hall of Fame inductions were granted to Jerry LeVasseur ’56 for Athletics and Tom Braman ’57 and Stu Levitan ’71 for Arts & Letters. Alumni paused to remember their deceased classmates, including special recognition for former President of the Alumni Association, David Hoadley ’51. Finally, Peter Houldin ’92 was given the prestigious David N. Hoadley ’51 Alumnus of the Year award.

On Saturday, June 18, on an unseasonably cool afternoon, Jonathan Tisch ’72 took a sledgehammer to the front door of the Science Building, ceremoniously marking the start of demolition. Then, Jon and Lizzie, along with Trustees Gretchen Farmer P’05 and Beth Glynn, put shovels to dirt to mark the official groundbreaking for the new Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Center for Innovation and Active Citizenship. By now well under construction, the new 24,800-square-foot facility will be completed before the fall of 2023 and will house our science, math, innovation, and citizenship programs.

And finally, on Thursday, June 30, we closed a third consecutive record-breaking year for The 1850 Fund with 1,236 donors giving $1,703,057. Unrestricted gifts to the school are among our most meaningful because a) the annual fund is how the majority of our community supports the school, and b) annual fund dollars represent nearly 10% of the operating budget, and impact every community member in large and small ways. Among the 1,237 donors: 182 gave at the Founders Society level of $1,850 or more; 565 gave for at least a third consecutive year, just under half (265) of those donors gave for at least the fifth year in a row; and 243 people made their first ever gift to The 1850 Fund!

All this to say, as I begin year nine in the Alumni & Development Office, I couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done together, or more grateful for the commitment of the Highlander Faithful. In my time here, there has never been more enthusiasm or support from our various constituencies than there is right now, as highlighted above with just a few keys examples from the past spring alone! As we all know, it takes the whole community — both on campus and off — to make this school its best. Keep up the great work: keep coming back, keep giving back, keep in touch with each other and the school, and keep talking up your experience to anyone who will listen. Everything you do for your school matters! Let’s continue to move forward, together.

Onward,

Sean Brown P’22 Chief Development Officer